A new study from University College London has discovered the formula for happiness and it mostly comes down to lowering your expectations [via SBS].

The researchers studied 18,000 people from around the world using a smart phone app that let them win (or lose) money based on choices they made in the game. Users were consistently asked to report back on how happy they were at any given moment. Interestingly, people's happiness didn't depend on how much money they won, but on how much they were expecting to win.

It's an interesting bit of sobering data for the millennial generation, who is often criticized for thinking everyone is special and deserving of praise after being weaned on a diet of inspirational '80s movies and participation ribbons. If you don't expect everything to always work out in your favor, you can't be crushed when the results are only average.